At a Glance

In the red-rock surroundings of beautiful Sedona, experience a first class golf adventure on 3 of Sedona’s finest courses. PGA-certified pros provide small-group instruction to improve all aspects of your game. Off the links, Sedona’s culture and history come alive during field trips and excursions. Enjoy presentations on desert critters and Sedona’s storied past in the motion-picture industry.

Activity Level

Outdoor: No Sweat

Walking up to two miles on uneven terrain. The challenge of the golf courses make this best-suited for experienced players. Elevations of 4,500 feet.

Small Group

Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 10 to 24 participants.

Best of all, you'll ...

Play three great golf courses, including the Robert Trent Jones designed Oak Creek Country Club, set against stunning red-rock cliffs, and the 4-star rated Hilton Sedona Golf Resort, one of the top public courses in the state. Play 54 holes of golf, including a fun 9-hole scramble.

Experience four hours of small-group golf instruction with PGA- certified pros who delve into swing mechanics, chipping and putting.

General Notes

Non-golfing participants welcome with significant price reduction. Please call for details. Due to the nature of this program, listening devices are not available.

Featured Expert

All Experts

Heather Risk (Instructors at Oak Creek Country Club)

Heather Risk is the Head Golf Professional and the Director of Instruction for Oakcreek Country Club. Heather’s passion is teaching golf. It shows in her preparation and enthusiasm in her lessons and the results that her students have enjoyed. Heather has over 15 years of teaching at country clubs and resort golf courses in northern Arizona with a clientele ranging from scratch golfers to beginners and everywhere in between. Heather is a Class A LPGA Teaching and Club Professional.

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Heather Risk (Instructors at Oak Creek Country Club)

View biography

Bill Krieger

View biography

Richard Stephens

View biography

Ken Mikell

View biography

Margaret (Maggie) Mitchell

View biography

Suggested Reading List

View 4 books

Arizona: A Cavalcade of History

by Trimble, Marshall

During America's first 100 years as a nation, pioneers moved ever-westward to new frontiers. When it became too crowded or the soil was mined out, they moved on to virgin land. Those days are gone forever. We have to learn to live with the problems we create. The knowledge gained from studying the mistakes of the past can help provide a better future. Will Rogers said it best: "The Indians never got lost because they were always looking back to see where they'd been." 368pp

Ancient Peoples of the American Southwest

by Steve Plog

The American Southwest is home to some of the most remarkable monuments of America's prehistoric past, such as Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde. Stephen Plog, who has spent decades working in the region, provides the most readable and up-to-date account of the predecessors of the modern Hopi and Pueblo Indian cultures in this well-received account. Chaco Canyon became the center of a thriving Anasazi cultural tradition. It was the hub of a trading network extending over hundreds of miles, whose arteries were a series of extraordinary roads that are still being discovered and mapped. Interweaving the latest archaeological evidence with early first-person accounts, Professor Plog explains the rise and mysterious fall of Southwestern cultures. 224pp.

Imagine all the adventures you’ll have in Arizona— touring the mountains and red deserts, seeing one spectacular natural wonder after another: the Grand Canyon, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument...Discover the art galleries, museums, resorts, and cuisine that help make Phoenix and Scottsdale such hot destinations. Full-color photographs throughout.

Secret Sedona: Sacred Moments in the Landscape

by Larry Lindahl

This book provides an overview of the terrain, ancestral Indian ruins and petroglyphs found in Sedona's wilderness areas. Extraordinary photography from one of the nations most photogenic areas. 80 pages.

Afternoon: Program Registration: 4:30-5:15 p.m. After you have your room assignment, come over to the Road Scholar conference room/meeting room to register with the program staff and get your welcome packet containing your name-tag, up-to-date schedule that reflects any last-minute changes, other important information, and to learn when and where the Orientation session will take place. If you arrive late, please ask for your packet when you check in. Orientation: 5:30 p.m. We will gather in our conference room/meeting room. where the Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule and any changes, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. Periods in the schedule labeled “Free Time and “At Leisure” offer opportunities to make the program more meaningful and memorable while going out to explore on your own, engaging in available activities independently, making new friends among fellow Road Scholars, or simply relaxing. The Group Leader will always be happy to offer suggestions. Transportation for program related activities will be in vans unless noted otherwise. For participants who wish to play golf during free time on the afternoon of Day 5, the Sedona Golf Resort will provide discounted pricing. Participants can make these arrangements upon arrival at the program. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

Dinner: In the hotel conference room, we’ll have a plated and served meal with choice of entrée (selection made during hotel check-in), the chef's dessert of the day, and a choice of coffee, tea, water; other beverages available for purchase.

Evening: At leisure.

DAY

2

Golf Instruction, Play 9 Holes of Golf at Oak Creek

Sedona, AZ

B,L,D

Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock

Activity note: Little walking during 3 hours of golf lessons but on your feet and active the entire time. Golf carts mandatory; if/when conditions have been rainy, golf carts must stay on the cart path with the possibility of walking 1-2 miles; largely flat terrain.

Morning: We’ll spend the morning at nearby Oak Creek Country Club, an 18-hole championship golf course nestled in the majestic Sedona red rocks. We’ll have lessons in small groups where professional golfing instructors will focus on swing mechanics, putting, chipping, iron and wood play. Our small groups will rotate between instructors as they address different parts of the game.

Lunch: At the Oak Creek Country Club, we’ll have a plated and served lunch with an emphasis on contemporary, health-focused cuisine and choices such as soup, salad, pizza, vegetables, and lemonade, iced tea, water; other beverages available for purchase.

Afternoon: Next, it’s 9 holes of golf at the Oak Creek Country Club. Designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., and Robert Trent Jones, Jr., this course is truly a masterpiece featuring Sedona red rock views beyond compare. In the usual Robert Trent Jones manner, the fairways are classic tree lined doglegs with fairway bunkers strategically placed in the landing areas. The greens are slightly elevated and surrounded with large swirling green side bunkers. This golf course is considered "player friendly" — allowing plenty of room for error but always with an opportunity to recover and get errant shots back into play.

Dinner: Hotel plated meal.

Evening: At the hotel, we will be joined by local musicians who will perform their western ballads and tales. Our performers are frequent guests at Southwest cowboy poet festivals and have been delighting Road Scholar participants for more than two decades.

DAY

3

Sedona by Trolley, Golf Instruction, Play 9 Holes at Sedona

Sedona, AZ

B,L,D

Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock

Activity note: The trolley makes many short stops; limited walking. 1.5 hours of golf lessons followed by 9 holes of golf at Sedona Golf Resort course; quite hilly and challenging, not suitable for beginners.

Breakfast: Hotel buffet.

Morning: We’ll board the open air Sedona Trolley — often called the "First Best Thing To Do In Sedona" — that hits many of the town’s scenic highlights including Uptown Sedona, the Chapel of the Holy Cross, and Airport Mesa with views of Sedona and its surrounding red rocks. We’ll return to the hotel by 10:30 a.m., then head over to the golf course for an hour and a half of small group lessons.

Lunch: Country club plated lunch with a variety of entree choices.

Afternoon: We’ll play 9 holes of golf at the Sedona Golf Resort. The velvety greens, surrounded by incredible red rock landscapes, look as if they’re carpeted. Every hole is a new adventure. With a 4-star rating from Golf Digest, the 6,646-yard, par-71 course is exceptionally challenging, offering what is widely considered one of the most memorable golf experiences in the world.

Dinner: At a favorite Mexican restaurant, we’ll have a plated dinner with a choice of American or Mexican themed entrées plus coffee, tea, water; other beverages available for purchase.

Morning: We’ll depart on a field trip to Montezuma Castle National Monument. This 5-story, 20-room cliff dwelling is nestled in a limestone recess high above the flood plain of Beaver Creek in the Verde Valley. It is one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in North America, constructed approximately 600 years ago by the Sinagua Indians.

Lunch: We’ll have a hearty sack lunch that includes a sandwich, chips, apple and cookie to eat when and where you please.

Afternoon: Returning to Oak Creek Country Club, we’ll play 18 holes of golf. Bring your camera to capture a course layout that can only be found where red rock cliffs, vibrant green fairways, and sparkling blue skies collide. True Sedona!

Dinner: This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. The hotel offers a free shuttle to a number of local restaurants.

Evening: At leisure.

DAY

5

Play 18 Holes of Golf at Canyon Mesa, Free Time

Sedona, AZ

B,L,D

Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock

Activity note: Hilly course at Canyon Mesa; golf carts provided.

Breakfast: Hotel buffet.

Morning: We’ll have an opportunity to play another 18 holes of golf on the par-28 executive course at Canyon Mesa Country Club. The course is set in a beautiful riparian area with water coming into play on many holes. Greens are large, fast, and often undulating. Mature trees line the fairways and provide challenging shot selection for even the lowest of handicaps. We’ll start with a spirited 9-hole scramble tournament followed by 9 holes of individual play. Those who wish to play 18 holes of golf during the free afternoon may choose to play only the 9-hole scramble in the morning.

Lunch: At the golf course, we’ll have a buffet lunch.

Afternoon: Free Time. For participants who wish to play golf during free time, the Sedona Golf Resort will provide us with discounted pricing (arrangements made upon arrival at the program). You might like to visit some of Sedona’s many famed art galleries, set out on one of the hiking trails, or enjoy the resort’s amenities (extra fees may apply).

Dinner: For our farewell dinner, we’ll go across the street to the Sedona Golf Resort for their weekly community buffet that features a large selection of tasty items including salad, several different entrées, side dishes, and assorted desserts, sodas, coffee, water included; other beverages available for purchase.

Evening: Following dinner, we'll have a program wrap-up with farewells. Then prepare for check out and departure in the morning.

DAY

6

Program Concludes, Independent Departures

Sedona, AZ

B

Activity note: Hotel check-out by 11:00 a.m.

Breakfast: Hotel buffet. This concludes our program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Please join our Facebook page and share photos of your program. Visit us at www.facebook.com/rsadventures. Best wishes for all your journeys!

Meals

13 Meals

5 Breakfasts

4 Lunches

4 Dinners

The following choices may be available when requested in advance: Vegetarian, Gluten Free

Lodging

Lodgings may differ by date. Select a date to see the lodgings specific to that date.

The Hilton Sedona Golf Resort & Spa is Sedona’s Luxury Golf Resort located amidst the spectacular beauty of Northern Arizona’s Red Rock Country in the heart of Sedona. The location is simply magical and has been called "The Most Beautiful Place in America." Guests enjoy stunning views of the majestic Red Rock formations, a resort-style leisure pool and numerous outdoor sitting areas for relaxation. The hotel is adjacent to an 18-hole championship golf course and the “eforia spa", where for an extra charge participants can enjoy fitness classes, a 25-meter lap pool, tennis courts, sauna and steam room.

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Road Scholar educational adventures are created by Elderhostel, the not-for-profit world leader in educational travel since 1975.

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